Under My Skin
by Oqs
Summary: "Red? Real creative nickname, love." I muttered at the blonde. He met my eyes, raising an eyebrow and gestured to my red ringlets corkscrewing their way about my face. "Is it not red?" he asked rhetorically, smirking.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello, loves! This is my very first chapter of my first fanfiction that I have decided to share! The rating is T for possible swearing and maybe some other things, but all that is going to be in future chapters. I apologize for the formatting...I haven't really gotten the hang of FF's system yet. I would love feedback, as I am always looking for improvement.**

 **Thanks!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! (shocking, right?)**

 **If I am missing anything that this is supposed to have, please tell me!**

 **With love,**

 **Ace**

I inhaled deeply, shivered, and opened my eyes.

I was still there, in the bloody castle. Hogwarts. Disappointed slightly, I sat up, not giving in to the desperate and begging urge to just go back to a peaceful sleep in my green and silver sheeted bed. I silently got dressed, putting my regular muggle jeans and fitted shirt on underneath my standard school robes. I shoved my deep mahogany wand inside the inner side of my left knee high leather boot unceremoniously, carelessly swung my black canvass book bag that I had previously packed the night before over my shoulder and made my way out of the girls' dormitory and into the Slytherin common room. Met with a smiling girl, I laughed at the sudden hug she gave me.

"Bloody hell, love, what's got you so high spirited? You do something naughty?" I guessed, snickering at the dainty blush the brunette gave at my speculation.

"No," she muttered, swatting my shoulder indignantly. I quirked my eyebrow, seeing that her blush had worsened, and she wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Jordan Michaels. You _did_ do something naughty. Why, sweets, won't you tell me?" I teased.

She glared at my smirking face. "I will not give you the satisfaction of knowing, you," she poked my collar bone, "you, _you_ ," sputtering madly, she gave up, throwing her small hands in the air and walking away, presumably going to breakfast.

Snickering, I followed behind, only lagging a few paces.

Jordan still wouldn't look my way at breakfast. The brunette skillfully avoided my stare like it was death itself. Getting fed up with the silent treatment, I kicked her shin under the table as she stuck some eggs in her dainty mouth, causing some of the mouthful to splutter back onto her plate. I was rewarded a small glare, and angry mutters as she returned her gaze to her scrambled eggs.

"What's she on about?" someone drawled out behind me, instantly making me tense up at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Good morning to you too. Good to see your manners have improved, darling," sarcasm was dripping from my words to the prat who sat beside me. He didn't answer, just scowled in my direction.

Jordan looked up, noticing the suddenly much more uncomfortable tension, and glared in realization at the fluorescent blonde head of hair. "Malfoy. To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Just thought I'd see how my favorite pair of ladies are doing," the prick answered, rolling his stunning eyes at the dreadful glare that the brunette was sending him.

He glanced at me, and smirked. "Did you even try to tame that rat's nest upon your head? Or did you simply give up," he pointed half-heartedly at my unruly ringlets that I was sure were sticking out in just about every direction there was.

Narrowing my eyes, I guffawed at his poor attempt at insulting me with what he assumed was an insecurity. "Bless your heart," I answered, putting a face of false innocence upon my features, smiling all too sweetly at the handsome jackass. He muttered something under his breath, but didn't say anything more.

Jordan and I left soon after, having finished our plates of food, leaving the blonde prick to eat his food alone.

The remainder of the day went fluidly. Dinner was normal, Malfoy making snarky quips, Jordan snapping retorts. I had finished my food before either of the two, but had stayed to marvel in the clever exclaims and insults that the two purebloods were shooting at each other. I watched in amusement as Jordan finally decided she had had enough of the blonde's sharp tongue, huffed in annoyance, and left the Great Hall without another word. With the tall brunette gone, Malfoy grumbled something under his oh-so-superior breath, and leaned back. I watched in amusement, realizing the prick had forgotten I was there. I grinned toothily and spoke up,

"She didn't get to you did she, darling?" I laughed out the words, seeing his surprise written on his face before he quickly covered it up with his regular stony look of indifference. "You two were really on your game tonight, love. That was some bloody five-star entertainment right there. Bravo, darling," I exclaimed, loving the way his beautiful face scrunched in disgust at my praise.

"Glad you enjoyed it, red," he muttered. I frowned. _Red_?

"Red? Real creative nickname, love."

He met my eyes, raising an eyebrow and gestured to my red ringlets corkscrewing their way about my face.

"Is it not red?" he asked rhetorically, smirking.

I scowled, more at myself than at the stuck-up pureblood sitting across from me, still staring intently at me, with his signature smirk set in stone on his pale face.

"Well observed, love," I murmured to him, before standing up, brushing a few breadcrumbs from my robes, and walking out of the Great Hall. I wasn't tired yet, so I roamed around the halls mindlessly, fiddling with the gold pendent around my neck.

I found myself in the astronomy tower, looking out across the dusk shadowed grounds. I would often come up here to get away from the tiring bickering that surrounded me. The height never did frighten me, and the place rarely had anyone in it at this time of day. Sitting down with my back against the wall, I opened my book bag and took out my assignment from my divination class. I finished it with little trouble, and stuffed it back into the bag. The sky was almost completely clear, allowing me to see many a star in the vast, all-knowing darkness that crowded in around me. My eyelids were heavy and drooping, and I soon drifted off into a slightly uncomfortable but peaceful slumber.

 _A raven haired beauty walked toward me. She was completely naked, absolutely nothing obstructing my view of her intense perfection. She smiled gently, looking absolutely divine, and sat down on the white plains that surrounded me. I waited for something to happen, but all the beauty did was sit in front of me, smiling sweetly._

 _After what seemed like days, the woman spoke in a melodic voice that matched her appearance perfectly._

 _"You should wake up now. You shouldn't be sleeping in the tower. Jordan was very worried about you last time you did this," the woman told me gently._

 _I frowned at her._

 _"She knows I can take care of myself," I argued tiredly._

 _"Yes. She knows. But you need to go now, before anyone other than Jordan gets worried. Perhaps a certain blonde?" she looked at me knowingly, then snapped her long, delicate fingers._

I sat up quickly, a cold sweat lining my brow. I stood too fast, losing my balance and stumbling a bit before righting myself. I frowned at the already dissipating dream. I tried to remember who the woman said might be worried, but couldn't quite remember. The sky was still dark and ominously hovering above me, looming ever so slightly. I shivered, swung my bag over my shoulder, and began my trek to the common room.

I entered the Slytherin common room quietly, as to not disturb the sleeping students in the dormitories. I hadn't expected anyone to still be in the common room, and yet there they were.

Malfoy looked up first, something close to relief flashing across his eyes, before Zabini glanced up as well, noticing his comrade's change in attention.

I looked at the two boys, quirking an eyebrow at them.

"Jones," Zabini muttered in surprise. It had almost been a whisper, but it seemed all too loud for the silence that I had been engulfed in moments ago.

I nodded to the dark skinned boy, smiling faintly. Malfoy looked between us, frowned, and elbowed the handsome boy beside him, shooting him a pointed look. I silently wondered what the two had been doing before my arrival. There was no assignment in front of them that they might have been working on, and I doubted that they were simply chatting. I pushed the thought aside.

"Zabini," I exclaimed in return. His emerald eyes returned to mine. He smiled warmly, and nodded in silent recognition. I looked between the two while an awkward silence clamored around loudly. After what seemed like ages, I finally piped up, my quiet voice mercilessly slicing the jarring silence in two.

"Alright then. I'll just be going to bed now. See you in the morning, loves," I decided.

"'night, Jones," Zabini answered. Malfoy still not saying a word, but instead nodding at me in a silent 'goodnight'. I smiled once more in their direction, and walked tiredly toward the dormitories, desperately wanting to go to sleep in a much more comfortable place.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**

 **hello again loves! Here is chapter two! If you have time, please review! I would love to have some feedback :)**

 **disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter universe. Don't sue me. ;)**

 **-Ace**

The windows had betrayed me once again, and let the early morning sunshine inside, resting innocently on my tired eyes, forcing them open. I looked in the vanity mirror on the wall and addressed my appearance. My hair, as usual was wildly flying about aimlessly, seemingly desperate to get away from my scalp. I shoved the mass of curls into a messy and rather lopsided bun at the back of my head. I looked at my face, seeing it was slightly swollen from lack of sleep, and that I had a cut on my lip. I frowned, not remembering how it got there. I shoved on my boots, as those were the only things I had actually taken off from the previous day before falling into my bed and allowing myself to drop into unconsciousness till just moments ago. Panicking slightly, I looked around the room for my wand, trying and failing to remember where I had put the bloody thing. Finding it hiding on the floor beside my bed, I grabbed my bag and walked into the common room, sitting down on the chair by the fire, seeing that it was only six.

I let my thoughts wonder, to thoughts of the night before. I wasn't quite sure what happened when the odd interaction occurred, but it wasn't sitting right with me. I thought of the raven haired beauty in my dream, confused that she had made a appearance after so long an absence. I always was able to understand her in the past dreams I've had, but I didn't know what had prompted her appearance this time around. It bothered me, honestly. That I couldn't quite remember what she had said, only that she was there. I pushed the bizarre thoughts aside, turning my head to see the maker of the noise that had interrupted my contemplating. Jordan and Malfoy stood together not ten feet away, Jordan looking nervous.

"Morning," I ventured, cautiously testing the waters. Both of the sharp-tongued purebloods were staring at me nervously now, as if trying to read my thoughts.

"You okay, Cyd?" Jordan blurted, sounded slightly exasperated. I furrowed my brows in confusion, unable to understand yet again.

"You didn't come back here till nearly two in the morning," she continued, seeing my confusion that I had purposely written very clearly on my face.

"Stellar observation, love. I fell asleep in the tower again, by accident of course. Woke up soon enough, came back here to sleep in my much more comfortable bed." I stammered at this point, still confused as to why she was worried more so than last time this occurred. Malfoy was a different story, who was standing with his pale hands in his robes' pockets, a completely bemused facial expression taking over his colorless face, I couldn't begin to make out what he could possibly be thinking. But Jordan knew that me falling asleep in the tower was nothing new nor unusual.

" _Yes_ , but, _Cyd_..." Jordan trailed off, turning her gaze to the floor. I sighed at her, knowing that she was worried. After a moment's contemplation, I shoved myself out of the plush seat, and wrapped my arms around her, closing my eyes. She hesitated for a moment, then hugged me back fiercely.

"I'm sorry, love. I'll try to just sleep here from now on, alright?" I apologized, giving up on figuring out why she was overly worried for now. Malfoy turned to us, and, to my surprise, his face was contorted in a fashion I could only construe as concern. It was an unusual look for him, that's for certain. He met my eyes, and must of seen my momentary shock, for he put his classic smirk in place.

"She wouldn't shut up about you. She gets really bloody annoying when she's upset," He drawled. I rolled my eyes at the arrogant tone, but ignored it. I turned my attention back to the brunette in my arms.

"You wanna go get some food now, love?"

She nodded, and I followed her out, without so much as a glance to the blonde boy whose presence confused me to no foreseeable end.

 **ooo**

"So...Jordan," I started, watching as she skipped stones into the rippling lake that rippled beautifully in front of us.

She gave me a questioning glance, nodding for me to continue.

"Don't take this the wrong way, love, but why were you so worried about my absence last night? It's not like I haven't slept there before, and...well, I just was wondering if there was somethin' more to it," I looked up at the girl's face, which was now directing it's gaze at some distant point in the horizon. Her face looked fragile in a way I hadn't seen before, and her pale green eyes were fuzzy looking, unfocused to a point that had me worried. She still hadn't answered.

"...love?"

She snapped out of her funk, sea foam eyes boring into mine.

"I just worry about you. Now more so than before. With what happened with your brother over the summer and all, I just-" I cut her off by standing up quickly, knocking the pile of rocks I was holding for the girl onto the earth. I tried to convey how much I needed her to stop talking with my eyes, but it wasn't clear enough obviously, because she resumed talking with a concerned look taking her face over viciously.

"Cyd, I know you don't-"

"Shut _up_!" I yelled. I heard birds distantly fly away, chatting alarm calls to their fellow fowl.

Jordan opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it, snapping her lips together with an audible smack.

"I _told_ you! I _told_ you not to mention him! You don't _understand_! You don't _get it,_ Jordan!" I didn't take anymore time to look at her surprised face, too upset to try to apologize for shouting at the brunette. I ran quickly across the trail back to the castle, dashing through the gates to get to somewhere private before the tears that were threatening to overflow finally broke the dam. I don't know how I was managing to not think about him before, but I was, but of course Jordan had to bring him up.

 _She just doesn't understand,_ I told myself.

 _Go back and apologize._

 _Later_. _Later_ , I thought to myself, dodging past students who were looking at me worriedly as I stumbled by, desperate to get to the tower. I passed Zabini, who called my name, assumably concerned about the tears that were flying down my splotchy cheeks freely. I didn't turn back, I kept running, ignoring the fact that my choked sobs were drawing plenty of unwanted attention from my classmates. My surroundings seemed to become foggy, the sounds of worried students were distant, and distorted.

I ran rushed up the staircase, tripping multiple times, catching myself in the nick of time. My sobs were more pronounced now, coming quickly and feeling as if they were ripping my throat apart. I was nearing half way up when I stumbled and fell backwards, gravity pulling my body down, brutally knocking the air out of me, and smashing my head on the concrete, giving me the lovely feeling of someone splitting my head in two. My vision was darkening around the edges, my tears stopping with the sudden pain I was feeling. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't manage that much control over my body. I blinked, feeling unconsciousness creeping up on me predatorily, and closed my eyes, trying to will myself to fall into its gentle caress. I opened my eyes moments later, hearing a voice that sounded like it was miles away, growing farther by the second. A caramel skinned boy was looking down at me worriedly, saying something, perhaps yelling, but I couldn't hear him. A buzzing white noise filled my ears, pressure upon itself in my head, threatening to burst. He kneeled down, putting my head on his lap, smoothing his hand over my curls. The last thing I remember was his swirling emerald eyes, wide with fear and uncertainty.

 **ooo**

I heard voices. Just one...no, two. They were talking quietly, almost whispering. I tried to open my eyes, but realized quickly that I couldn't. Panic set in fast, my heart rate rocketing. I heard footsteps, and one of the whispering voices grew louder, filling my ears.

"Madam Pomfrey! How is she?" I recognized the voice as Jordan's. She sounded far away, with a slight ringing to her voice.

"She'll be fine, Miss Michaels. I suggest you two go about to your classes. You can check on her after dinner. There is a good chance she'll be awake be then."

 _Awake_?

"Come on, Michaels. Let's go," I recognized the second voice as Zabini's.

 _Stupid!_

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid_!

I remembered then. What had happened. Why I was laying here, unconscious.

I remembered running away, and up the stairs to the tower.

 _Stupid_!

I fell.

 _Stupid_. _Stupid_.

I heard Jordan's and Zabini's footsteps fading away, causing a silence to overtake the infirmary.

 **ooo**

I felt someone sit on the side of my bed. I still couldn't open my eyes, but the presence they held felt familiar.

They took my hand, rubbing their fingers over the back of my palm absentmindedly.

A set of footsteps caused them to jump up, presumably to stand beside the bed. I wondered why they didn't want anyone to see them holding my hand, and I wondered who they were.

"Malfoy," I heard Jordan say, sounding surprised and wary.

"Michaels," I heard the boy say, his voice low and almost threatening.

Wait. Malfoy. Malfoy was just holding my hand.

"Well. Goodbye, then," he sounded embarrassed.

I heard him walk away, but I barely processed it.

Malfoy just held my hand.

Well. This is new.


End file.
